Energy Profile Multiple Steps

Question

In a two-step mechanism, the rate-determining step is the one with:

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1. **Mechanism**: Complex reactions occur in multiple elementary steps.
2. **Concept**: The overall speed of the reaction is bottlenecked by the slowest step.
3. **The Rate Determining Step ($RDS$)**: This is the **slowest step** in the sequence.
4. **Energy Barrier**: The step with the **highest activation energy ($E_a$)** will have the lowest rate constant ($k$) and will thus be the slowest.
5. **Verification**: Even if other steps are very fast, the reaction cannot finish until this 'rate-determining' hurdle is cleared.

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Energy Profile Multiple Steps

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